comedy time travel

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The Best Time Travel Comedies, Ranked

The best time-travel comedies hold a special place in the hearts of movie enthusiasts, delivering captivating stories and hilarity in equal measure. These cinematic gems transport viewers through time, exploring the complicated nature of human relationships, life choices, and alternate realities, all while delivering a hearty dose of humor. As the popularity of this genre continues to grow, audiences can expect even more delightful and thought-provoking time travel comedy movies. 

The genius of comedy time-travel movies lies in their ability to delight audiences while simultaneously delving into the intricacies of human existence. Filmmakers have the exceptional ability to intertwine complex theories with relatable life experiences, resulting in comedy time-travel movies that examine the intricacies of married life, friendship, or personal growth. Ultimately, it is this expert combination of raw emotions and laughter that distinguishes these films within the world of cinema. 

Among the collection of best time-travel movies, a few stand out as quintessential examples. Back to the Future , for instance, has become a classic for its witty writing, memorable characters, and the unforgettable DeLorean time machine. Groundhog Day masterfully showcases the comedic genius of Bill Murray in a film that explores the existential implications of living the same day over and over again. Moreover, Back to the Future Part II ingeniously expands upon the original film's concept, offering an exhilarating glimpse into a futuristic world filled with hoverboards and self-tying shoes. 

These notable movies are just a fraction of the incredible lineup of comedy time-travel movies available to moviegoers.  From past to future, the legacy of the best time-travel comedy movies will persist, as they continue to enthrall viewers with delightful narratives and relatable themes. With their ability to provoke laughter, inspire deep reflections, and challenge preconceived notions of reality, these films have found their way into cinematic history. 

Back to the Future

Marty McFly's life takes an unexpected turn when he accidentally activates his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown's latest creation - a DeLorean outfitted with a flux capacitor allowing for temporal displacement. As Marty races against time to correct the course of history, audiences are treated to a thrilling and hilarious ride through the intertwining timelines of 1985 and 1955, sparking a pop culture phenomenon that would endure for decades. The charming chemistry between Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, combined with Robert Zemeckis' masterful direction, makes this film an enduring classic in the realm of comedies.

• Released : 1985
• Directed by : Robert Zemeckis

Groundhog Day

Phil Connors, a grumpy and self-absorbed weatherman played by Bill Murray, finds himself caught in an inexplicable time loop, forced to relive the same day - Groundhog Day - over and over again. This brilliantly constructed comedy, directed by Harold Ramis, explores the themes of personal growth and redemption as Phil gradually learns to appreciate the small moments in life and become a better person. Groundhog Day 's unique blend of humor, romance, and subtle philosophic undertones has consistently resonated with audiences since its release, earning it a place among the best comedies of all time .

• Released : 1993
• Directed by : Harold Ramis

Back to the Future Part II

The second installment in the beloved trilogy picks up immediately where the first left off, with Marty McFly and Doc Brown embarking on an adventure to the distant future of 2015 to prevent a catastrophe involving Marty's future children. Director Robert Zemeckis deftly weaves together multiple timelines, exploring not only the future but also revisiting iconic moments from the original film to create a complex but highly entertaining narrative. With clever storytelling, memorable set pieces, and engaging performances by its leads, this sequel stands as a worthy continuation of the journey initiated in the first film.

• Released : 1989

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

High school slackers Bill and Ted, played by Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves, receive a timely intervention from Rufus (George Carlin), a time-traveling guide from the future who sets them on a journey through history to collect notable figures for their final report. This comedic romp through time showcases the endearing friendship between the dimwitted duo as they face challenges that could alter the course of human existence. The film's blend of absurd humor, catchy catchphrases, and historical cameos has garnered a cult following, earning it a place in the annals of comedy history.

• Directed by : Stephen Herek

Back to the Future Part III

In the final chapter of the iconic trilogy, Marty McFly finds himself once more traversing the fabric of time as he travels back to the Wild West of 1885 to rescue his imperiled friend Doc Brown. The film masterfully showcases the chemistry between its leads while blending humor, romance, and action through its exploration of the untamed frontier and the challenges of reconciling past, present, and future. This fitting conclusion to the series continues to delight fans and solidifies the trilogy's status as one of the greatest time-bending adventures in cinematic history.

• Released : 1990

When young Alan Parrish discovers a mysterious board game, he unwittingly unleashes a dangerous world filled with wild animals and treacherous traps that force him to navigate his way back to reality. Years later, two unsuspecting children come across the same game and inadvertently release Alan, now played by Robin Williams, from his jungle imprisonment. A perfect blend of humor, adventure, and heart-pounding action, this film's legacy has continued to endure, spawning sequels and inspiring new generations of viewers.

• Released : 1995
• Directed by : Joe Johnston

This biting satire delves into a dystopian future where simple-mindedness prevails, and societal decline is rampant, making for a both humorous and cautionary tale. Director Mike Judge tells the story of average Joe Bauers, played by Luke Wilson, who awakens from a suspended-animation experiment to find himself in an absurd world governed by idiocy, armed only with his moderate intelligence and the knowledge of a time long past. Among a sea of mindless entertainment, the film stands as a thought-provoking comedy that hits closer to home than one might expect.

• Released : 2006
• Directed by : Mike Judge

Galaxy Quest

This loving spoof of the science-fiction genre and its rabid fandom centers around the cast of a canceled TV show, who find themselves unwittingly recruited by real aliens to defend their species from a deadly foe. Boasting a superb ensemble cast that includes Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, and Alan Rickman, the film offers a hilarious and insightful look at the blurred lines between fantasy and reality, combining genuine laugh-out-loud moments with thrilling action sequences. Through its affectionate skewering of genre tropes and endearing celebration of fandom, Galaxy Quest remains a beloved cult classic among sci-fi comedy enthusiasts.

• Released : 1999
• Directed by : Dean Parisot

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

This modern take on the Jumanji story breathes new life into the franchise, swapping the original's board game for a video game that transports four teenagers into a dangerous jungle world where they must save the day as their chosen avatars. The film ingeniously capitalizes on the talents of its leading cast members, including Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan, who bring to life their roles with humor, heart, and no shortage of action-packed set pieces. The result is a highly entertaining romp that pays homage to its predecessor while forging a fresh path for the franchise.

• Released : 2017
• Directed by : Jake Kasdan

13 Going on 30

After wishing for adulthood, a young girl named Jenna Rink wakes up the next morning as her 30-year-old self, played by Jennifer Garner, with no recollection of the past 17 years. As Jenna navigates the foreign landscape of her adult life, she learns valuable lessons about friendship, love, and self-acceptance while grappling with the possibility of reversing the course of her life. Garner's endearing performance, coupled with charming comedic moments and a heartfelt message, makes this movie a delightful entry in the pantheon of age-altering comedies.

• Released : 2004
• Directed by : Gary Winick

Hot Tub Time Machine

A drunken night in a ski resort hot tub sends four friends - played by John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke - back in time to the glory days of their youth in the 1980s, where they are presented with an opportunity to correct past mistakes or completely rewrite history. Laden with raunchy humor, fun nods to '80s pop culture, and memorable performances from its ensemble cast, this irreverent comedy has earned its place among fan-favorite films that toy with the concept of altering one's own past.

• Released : 2010
• Directed by : Steve Pink

In this modern retelling of Charles Dickens' classic A Christmas Carol , Bill Murray plays Frank Cross, a cynical and selfish television executive who is visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve. Director Richard Donner expertly blends sharp-witted humor with sentimental moments, creating a film that pays homage to its source material while carving out its unique niche in the holiday movie genre. Murray's impeccable comedic timing, combined with a supporting cast of eccentric characters, ensures that this film remains a crowd-pleasing favorite during the festive season.

• Released : 1988
• Directed by : Richard Donner

Army of Darkness

Cult filmmaker Sam Raimi brings his unmistakable style to this third installment of the Evil Dead series, which sees protagonist Ash Williams, played by Bruce Campbell, transported back to the medieval era where he battles demonic forces in his quest to return to his own time. Campbell's wildly entertaining, over-the-top performance lends itself perfectly to the film's blend of horror, slapstick comedy, and action-adventure. Army of Darkness has become a beloved midnight movie favorite and a testament to the enduring appeal of B-movie schlock when handled with a deft touch.

• Released : 1992
• Directed by : Sam Raimi

Pleasantville

Two siblings, played by Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon, are transported into the black-and-white world of a 1950s television show, where their presence begins to challenge the idyllic yet repressed society's norms. By showcasing the stark contrast between nostalgic idealism and modern-day realities, writer-director Gary Ross crafts a captivating and thought-provoking tale that touches upon themes of racism, censorship, and self-discovery. Pleasantville 's ability to balance humor and heart while exploring complex societal issues cements it as a poignant and timeless classic.

• Released : 1998
• Directed by : Gary Ross

Men in Black 3

The third installment of the popular franchise sees Agent J, played by Will Smith, embark on a mission through time in order to prevent an alien assassination that would have dire consequences for Earth and his partner, Agent K, played by Tommy Lee Jones. Along the way, audiences are treated to unexpected twists, humorous encounters with historical figures, and a brilliant performance from Josh Brolin as the younger version of Agent K. The balance of heart, action, and comedy spliced with elements of time-manipulation make this a welcome addition to the beloved Men in Black series.

• Released : 2012
• Directed by : Barry Sonnenfeld

Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey

In this sequel to the cult classic Excellent Adventure , the titular duo is pitted against evil robot versions of themselves sent from the future in an attempt to thwart their destiny of creating a utopian society through their music. Along the way, Bill and Ted navigate the afterlife, compete with Death in a series of games, and form their band, Wyld Stallyns. The film's unique blend of surreal humor, zany characters, and philosophical undertones ensures it remains a fan favorite among the pantheon of time travel comedies.

• Released : 1991
• Directed by : Peter Hewitt

Time Bandits

In this fantastical adventure, a young boy named Kevin is swept away by a group of dwarves who traverse time and space in pursuit of treasure, guided by a magical map stolen from their former employer, the Supreme Being. Directed by Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam, Time Bandits expertly mixes whimsy with satire, resulting in a film that appeals to both children and adults alike. Its unique blend of humor, visual enchantment, and historical figures has earned it a special place in the hearts of fans of time-traveling adventures.

• Released : 1981
• Directed by : Terry Gilliam

The Family Man

When high-powered Wall Street executive Jack Campbell, played by Nicolas Cage, awakens one day to find himself living an alternate life as a family man, he is forced to reevaluate his priorities and reconsider the choices he made along the way. The film's portrayal of life's "what ifs" is brought to life through the engaging performances of Cage and his co-stars, Tea Leoni and Don Cheadle. While exploring themes of regret and the importance of appreciating what one has, The Family Man delivers heartwarming laughs and emotional depth, establishing it as a poignant modern-day fable.

• Released : 2000
• Directed by : Brett Ratner

The Muppet Christmas Carol

In this delightful adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic yuletide tale, the iconic Muppets take on the story of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, portrayed by Michael Caine, who learns the true meaning of Christmas through a series of ghostly visitations. The film expertly blends the charm and humor synonymous with the Muppets franchise with the heartfelt message of Dickens' timeless story. With its colorful cast of characters and unforgettable musical numbers, The Muppet Christmas Carol has become a beloved holiday classic for generations of viewers.

• Directed by : Brian Henson

This body-swapping comedy stars Zac Efron as a disillusioned adult who is mysteriously transformed back into his 17-year-old self to give him a second chance at reliving his youth and reshaping his destiny. With a heartfelt performance from Efron and solid comedic support from Thomas Lennon and Matthew Perry, the film tackles themes of redemption, regret, and rebirth with a light-hearted and feel-good touch. Maintaining an engaging blend of humor, drama, and nostalgia, 17 Again offers a fresh spin on the familiar trope of revisiting one's past to alter the course of one's life.

• Released : 2009
• Directed by : Burr Steers

With the aid of a magical universal remote control that allows him to manipulate time, workaholic architect Michael Newman, played by Adam Sandler, discovers the bittersweet consequences of fast-forwarding through life's most significant moments. The film skillfully balances its comedic elements with a more somber look at the importance of cherishing the time spent with loved ones - a theme that resonates with viewers even after the credits roll. Click showcases Sandler's versatility as an actor while offering a thought-provoking take on the common desire to control aspects of one's life.

• Directed by : Frank Coraci

Kate & Leopold

In this charming romantic comedy, Hugh Jackman plays a 19th-century Duke who is accidentally transported to modern-day New York City, where he falls for a jaded marketing executive played by Meg Ryan. As the two navigate their vastly different worlds, they find that time may not be as much of an obstacle to love as they initially thought. The film's enchanting blend of humor, romance, and period-piece charm makes it a unique and engaging entry in the genre of time-traveling romances.

• Released : 2001
• Directed by : James Mangold

Futurama: Bender's Big Score

In this feature-length continuation of the cult TV series, the Planet Express crew faces an evil alien conspiracy, which involves the use of time travel to alter history for nefarious purposes. The fan-favorite character, Bender the robot, is at the center of the story as he carries out a series of increasingly bizarre time-traveling missions. Combining the show's signature blend of biting satire, rapid-fire gags, and endearing character moments, Bender's Big Score provides fans with a satisfying and hilarious addition to the Futurama canon.

• Released : 2007
• Directed by : Dwayne Carey-Hill

Meet the Robinsons

This animated adventure follows young inventor Lewis as he embarks on a thrilling journey into the future, where he encounters the eccentric and lovable Robinson family. As Lewis unravels the mystery of his own destiny amid a backdrop of colorful characters and imaginative inventions, the film delivers a heartfelt message about family and the power of perseverance. With its inviting blend of humor, adventure, and emotional depth, Meet the Robinsons has become a beloved classic in the realm of animated time-travel tales.

• Directed by : Stephen J. Anderson

Peggy Sue Got Married

This quirky comedy-drama follows the life of Peggy Sue, played by Kathleen Turner, who faints during her high school reunion and wakes up in her teenage years with adult knowledge of her future life. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola , the film combines a nostalgic affection for the 1960s with the heavy burden of regret and second chances. Turner's captivating performance, alongside a young Nicolas Cage, makes Peggy Sue Got Married a memorable and touching exploration of the human propensity to revisit the past.

• Released : 1986
• Directed by : Francis Ford Coppola

Flight of the Navigator

In this thrilling family adventure, a young boy named David awakens after a mysterious disappearance to find himself eight years in the future, still the same age and with no memory of the time that has passed. As he forms a bond with an alien spaceship and its AI pilot, David embarks on a journey through space and time to unravel the mystery of his lost years. Blending humor, wonder, and engaging storytelling, Flight of the Navigator remains a cherished favorite among fans of family-friendly time-travel tales.

• Directed by : Randal Kleiser

Director Richard Curtis weaves a poignant and heartwarming tale of love, family, and the power of time as Tim, played by Domhnall Gleeson, discovers he has the ability to travel back in time and alter his life's course - a gift passed down through generations of men in his family. Alongside Rachel McAdams, who gives a captivating performance as Tim's love interest, the film explores the possibilities and pitfalls of manipulating time to achieve happiness while maintaining a balance of humor and sentimentality. About Time resonates with audiences for its tender storytelling and memorable performances, solidifying its place among cherished romantic comedies.

• Released : 2013
• Directed by : Richard Curtis

Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen's enchanting tale follows disillusioned writer Gil Pender, played by Owen Wilson, as he stumbles upon a magical portal that transports him to the golden age of 1920s Paris, where he meets and mingles with literary and artistic icons of the era. This captivating journey through time serves not only as a love letter to the City of Lights but also as a thoughtful reflection on nostalgia and the allure of the past. Beautifully shot, expertly written, and featuring a stellar ensemble cast, Midnight in Paris remains one of Allen's most beloved and critically acclaimed films .

• Released : 2011
• Directed by : Woody Allen

A Kid in King Arthur's Court

When a baseball game turns into a fantastical adventure, modern-day teenager Calvin Fuller is transported back in time to Camelot, where he uses his 20th-century knowledge to help King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table save their kingdom. Amidst jousting tournaments and medieval misadventures, Calvin discovers his inner hero and learns valuable life lessons. A Kid in King Arthur's Court offers a whimsical and exciting twist on the classic fish-out-of-water story that has delighted audiences for decades.

• Directed by : Michael Gottlieb

Bill & Ted Face the Music

In this long-awaited third installment of the popular franchise, the lovable duo - once again portrayed by Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter - have failed to live up to their prophesied destiny of uniting the world through their music, and are faced with a warning from the future that they must create an all-important song to save humanity. The film successfully evokes the spirit of the original movies, blending nostalgic charm with a fresh perspective that resonates with both devoted fans and newcomers alike. The return of Bill and Ted's unique friendship, hilarious antics, and endearing optimism solidifies this film as a worthy addition to the beloved series.

• Released : 2020

Mr. Peabody & Sherman

This animated adventure brings the beloved characters of the classic 1960s television series to life, as genius dog Mr. Peabody and his adopted human son, Sherman, use their time-traveling WABAC machine to embark on a series of educational and entertaining historical escapades. Along the way, the duo encounters famous figures, rectifies past mistakes, and learns valuable lessons about family and friendship. With its charming animation, clever humor, and heartwarming storyline, Mr. Peabody & Sherman captures the essence of the original series while appealing to a new generation of audiences.

• Released : 2014
• Directed by : Rob Minkoff

Black Knight

When lowly theme park employee Jamal Walker, played by Martin Lawrence, is transported back in time to the Middle Ages, he finds himself mistaken for a messenger from God and becomes embroiled in the political intrigue of a royal court. Utilizing his street smarts and contemporary know-how, Jamal shakes up the medieval establishment with uproarious results. With its humorous premise and Lawrence's infectious energy, Black Knight offers an amusing and lighthearted spin on the classic fish-out-of-water tale.

• Directed by : Gil Junger

Woody Allen stars as a hapless health food store owner who, after being cryogenically frozen, awakens two centuries later to find himself in a dystopian police state where he becomes an unlikely hero. This classic sci-fi comedy showcases Allen's trademark wit and physical humor as he lampoons futuristic technology, social norms, and the human propensity for self-destruction. Sleeper 's unique blend of slapstick, satire, and absurdist humor has made it a cult classic that continues to resonate with fans of Allen's distinct comedic style.

• Released : 1973

Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel

In this comedic sci-fi adventure, three friends find themselves caught up in a wild and unpredictable chronicle of time-travel mishaps after a chance encounter with a mysterious woman at their local pub. As they navigate the perplexing series of events and try to restore order to their lives, the film cleverly explores the absurd and entertaining consequences of meddling with time. Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel offers a unique and irreverent take on the time-traveling genre that distinguishes itself through its blend of wit, intrigue, and camaraderie.

• Directed by : Gareth Carrivick

Slaughterhouse-Five

Adapted from Kurt Vonnegut's iconic novel, this darkly comedic film centers around Billy Pilgrim, a man who becomes "unstuck" in time and experiences his life out of order, from his mundane suburban existence to his harrowing experiences as a prisoner of war during the bombing of Dresden. Directed by George Roy Hill , the film expertly balances its portrayal of the absurdity of life with the inherent tragedy of war, creating a unique viewing experience that is both profound and engaging. Slaughterhouse-Five remains a thought-provoking and poignant exploration of human existence, fate, and the nature of time.

• Released : 1972
• Directed by : George Roy Hill

Safety Not Guaranteed

When a team of journalists investigates an eccentric man who claims to have built a time machine, they find themselves drawn into his peculiar world of conspiracy theories and outsider charm. The film, led by breakout performances from Aubrey Plaza and Mark Duplass, masterfully balances its comedic elements with genuine human emotion, resulting in an endearing and thought-provoking examination of trust, connection, and the allure of the unknown. Safety Not Guaranteed has earned its place among contemporary indie comedies as a heartfelt and memorable exploration of the human obsession with altering one's past.

• Directed by : Colin Trevorrow

When We First Met

In this romantic comedy, Noah, played by Adam DeVine, gains the ability to travel back in time to the night he met the love of his life, only to repeatedly fail at winning her heart with each attempt at altering their history. As Noah desperately tries to rewrite the past, the film cleverly explores themes of love, destiny, and the consequences of meddling with time. With its engaging performances and sweet-natured humor, When We First Met offers a fresh and charming take on the concept of getting a second chance at love.

• Released : 2018
• Directed by : Ari Sandel

Hot Tub Time Machine 2

In this raucous sequel, the gang returns for another time-bending adventure when their friend Lou, played by Rob Corddry, is shot and left for dead, prompting them to use the titular hot tub to travel back in time and catch his assailant. The film ups the ante on its predecessor's irreverent humor and outrageous situations, with the ensemble cast once again embracing their roles and the absurdity of their predicament. Though not as well-received as the original, Hot Tub Time Machine 2 offers a dose of nostalgic escapism for fans of the first film who seek more of its unapologetically crude humor.

• Released : 2015

Les Visiteurs

This French comedic gem follows a medieval knight and his loyal servant, played by Jean Reno and Christian Clavier, as they are accidentally transported to the 20th century and struggle to adapt to the foreign customs and technologies of the modern world. Through a series of hilarious mishaps and misunderstandings, the duo inadvertently wreaks havoc upon the lives of their descendants. With its memorable characters, clever dialogue, and fish-out-of-water premise, Les Visiteurs has become an enduring favorite among international comedies.

• Directed by : Jean-Marie Poiré

My Science Project

In this 1980s cult classic, high school student Michael Harlan discovers a strange alien device that inadvertently unleashes a temporal vortex, sending him and his friends hurtling through time. As they navigate their way through a chaotic landscape populated by historical figures and prehistoric creatures, the group must find a way to reverse the damage they've caused before it's too late. Blending teen comedy with science fiction adventure, My Science Project offers a nostalgia-infused romp through time that has delighted audiences for decades.

• Directed by : Jonathan R. Betuel

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Adapted from Mark Twain's classic novel, this film stars Bing Crosby as a savvy mechanic who is transported back in time to the court of legendary King Arthur and uses his modern know-how to save the day. Showcasing Crosby's trademark crooning and charm, the film delivers an engaging blend of humor, romance, and adventure that captures the spirit of Twain's original story. With its timeless appeal and witty commentary on the clash between the past and the present, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is a delightful addition to the canon of time-traveling comedies.

• Released : 1949
• Directed by : Tay Garnett

In this Japanese romantic drama , a high school student named Naho receives a mysterious letter from herself ten years in the future, urging her to prevent a tragedy involving her classmate Kakeru. As the film delicately interweaves its exploration of adolescence, love, and friendship with the intriguing premise of altering one's past, it offers a poignant and heartfelt viewing experience that resonates with audiences of diverse backgrounds. With its atmospheric visuals, engaging performances, and thoughtful storytelling, Orange stands out among time-traveling narratives as a moving and introspective meditation on the power of human connection.

• Directed by : Kôjirô Hashimoto

The Spirit of '76

Set in a grim dystopian future where the history of the United States has been lost, this sci-fi comedy follows three time travelers sent back to the year 1976 in an attempt to rediscover America's past - only to land in the wrong decade. As the trio becomes entangled in the pop culture of the groovy era, they learn more about themselves and the true spirit of America than they ever anticipated. Blending nostalgic humor, quirky characters, and an unapologetic love for the 1970s, The Spirit of '76 offers a light-hearted look at the era that forged a nation's identity.

• Directed by : Lucas Reiner

In this campy horror-comedy, a group of friends stumbles upon a wax museum with a sinister secret: the exhibits are actually trapped souls waiting to be unleashed upon the world. As the friends are drawn into the alternate realities of each exhibit, they must battle the monsters of history and fiction to prevent a supernatural apocalypse. Blending tongue-in-cheek humor with elements of horror and adventure, Waxwork offers a fun and offbeat entry in the genre of time-traveling comedies.

• Directed by : Anthony Hickox

In this unconventional romantic comedy, a frustrated author discovers the characters she created are living out their lives in an alternate reality, resulting in a collision of worlds as they become aware of their fictional status. As the line between reality and fiction blurs, the characters must navigate the challenges of self-awareness, love, and the ability to rewrite their destinies. With its clever blend of humor, romance, and existential exploration, Meet Cute offers a fresh and imaginative take on the time-honored theme of second chances.

• Released : 2022
• Directed by : Alexandre Lehmann

Happy Accidents

This unique romantic comedy stars Marisa Tomei as Ruby, a woman who falls in love with Sam, played by Vincent D'Onofrio, a seemingly ordinary man who claims to be a time traveler from the year 2470 sent back to save her life. As Ruby grapples with the implications of Sam's extraordinary claim, the film deftly explores the boundaries of love, trust, and the mysterious nature of time. Offering an unconventional and thought-provoking take on the traditional romantic comedy, Happy Accidents has earned its place among the most memorable films to tackle the subject.

• Directed by : Brad Anderson

Waxwork II: Lost in Time

In this sequel to the cult classic Waxwork , the surviving characters from the original film embark on a time-hopping adventure through various dimensions in order to save the world from an ancient evil. Along the way, they encounter an array of historical figures and notorious villains, all while grappling with the challenges and consequences of time travel. Waxwork II: Lost in Time ups the ante on its predecessor's blend of campy humor and otherworldly adventure, delivering a wildly entertaining romp through the ages.

Just Visiting

An American remake of the popular French comedy Les Visiteurs , this film stars Jean Reno and Christina Applegate as a medieval knight and his 21st-century descendant who must join forces to undo the consequences of a time travel spell gone awry. With its lively mix of slapstick humor, fish-out-of-water scenarios, and culture-clash comedy, Just Visiting continues the tradition of its predecessor while offering new twists and laughs for American audiences.

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Lists that rank the best, most hilarious films that will make you laugh so hard, you'll wake up the whole neighborhood.

10 Funniest Time Travel Comedy Movies

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Andor director's 'star trek origin' movie gets exciting update, 10 cheesiest '90s movies, ranked.

Time travel is one of the most commonly used concepts in sci-fi movies and while plots revolving around it are interesting on their own, sprinkling comedy into the proceedings is guaranteed to boost the quality. Movie lovers have thus gotten used to being treated to time travel comedies every single year

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Among the numerous options in the category, a few are more recommendable because they have a higher laugh-per-minute quotient than the others. This is because they have talented casts full of comedic actors as well as decent jokes and gags that stick to the mind long after the events come to a conclusion.

10 Historical Figures Pour Into The Present In Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

Keanu Reeves might have earned his seat on the table of the coolest action stars but he has been in a number of amazing comedies too. One of those is Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure where two teenagers struggling to pass their history assignment go back in time to actually interact with the figures they are researching on.

For history buffs, the movie is a blast as it features comical depictions of Napoleon Bonaparte, Joan of Arc, Abraham Lincoln, Socrates, and Ludwig van Beethoven. As respected as these figures are, the movie treats them as caricatures by thrusting them into all sorts of awkward situations once they are transported to modern times.

9 Fortunes Change For A Group Of Friends In Hot Tub Time Machine

There have been many creative ways to travel back in time and in Hot Tub Time Machine , it all happens via a hot tub at a resort. The comedy begins with the cliché plot of friends going on a vacation on an island but soon find themselves in 1986 after deciding to relax in a tub.

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Throughout the film, the likable cast that includes naturally funny actors like Rob Corddry and Craig Robinson gives audiences every reason to smile. However, it's the numerous interesting scenarios that pop up in the new time period that make the movie exciting. One of those involves one of the friends failing to transform back into his younger self because he was born after 1986.

8 There Is A Major Culture Clash In Black Knight

Among the numerous underrated comedies of the 2000s is Black Knight , where Jamal, a theme park employee accidentally gets transported back in time to 1328 England. There, the citizens hold him in high regard until they realize he isn’t who he says he is.

Starring Martin Lawrence at his peak, the movie is packed with endless visual gags, mostly stemming from Jamal trying to incorporate modern practices into medieval society. The verbal exchanges are hilarious too and so are the costume differences since he insists on wearing his jeans and shirt at all times.

7 Back To The Future Has One Of The Greatest Movie Characters

A movie where a teenager threatens his own existence by preventing his parents from falling in love is definitely one that’s guaranteed to delight and Back To The Future doesn’t disappoint. Much of the credit goes to Emmett "Doc" Brown who has gone on to be considered one of the greatest ever movie characters .

Doc's physical appearance and actions are main the reservoirs of humor. There's always the threat of something going wrong too, even when a problem has been solved, hence creating endless anxiety. Additionally, the movie proves itself superior to other sci-fi and comedy offerings by focusing more on storytelling rather than visual spectacle.

6 A Teenager's Wish Comes True In 13 Going On 30

The limitations that come with being young can be frustrating, that’s why 13-year-old Jenna keeps wishing she was an adult in 13 Going On 30. Interestingly, his wishes come true when she wakes up to find out that she is not only 30 years old but has also been transported from 1987 to 2004.

RELATED: 10 Funniest Female-Led Comedies Of Today

13 Over 30 is hoisted by strong performances by Jennifer Garner, Mark Ruffalo, and Andy Serkis, but it’s the former who shines the most as her character tries to make sense of what's happening. As expected, most things go wrong for the adult Jenna and while her experiences are funny, they also serve as cautionary moments for those dreaming of better lives than the ones they have.

5 In Click, An Architect Can Remote-Control His Life

Life would be interesting if one could fast-forward or rewind their lives and that’s the idea Click explores to humorous effect. In it, an architect named Michael can skip or go back to events he desires the most.

While this seems like a good option to have, the movie goes the classic things-go-wrong route when the remote start operating by itself after learning he only desires success. It thus fast forwards him to a promotion and then a decade later when he has become boss, making him miss out on important family events. The quest to discard the remote and reverse time then starts.

4 The Adam Project Blends Action & Laughs

To many fans, The Adam Project is one of the most satisfying movies of 2022 because of the healthy friendship between the younger and older versions of Ryan Reynolds; character, Adam. In it, a dystopian fighter pilot from 2050 meets a child version of himself after he crash-lands in 2022.

As is the case with most Ryan Reynolds movies, there are plenty of goofy moments that make every single scene enjoyable. These are blended with incredible action sequences as well as aerial dogfights. The villain is more laughable than threatening too, hence the quest to defeat him becomes more of a fiesta than a dark journey.

3 Everyone Is Dumb In Idiocracy

A high IQ is highly beneficial in the real world but not so much in the society depicted in Idiocracy . Events in the comedy revolve around a U.S. Army librarian named Joe who finds himself in the year 2505 after participating in a hibernation experiment. Since technology has advanced so much, people don't need to be smart to survive.

RELATED: 10 Hilarious Comedies Ruined By One Single Scene

As weird as the society is, Joe's value increases because he is literally the one-eyed man in a village of blind people. The President thus gives him the task of solving most of society's problems, resulting in a fun-filled tale that also covers themes such as commercialism, overpopulation, dysgenics, and corporatocracy.

2 A Woman Rewinds The Same Date Night In Meet Cute

Among the more recent offerings in the genre is Meet Cute , where a solution is given to a boring life. Since Sheila's life has become meaningless, she decides to relive the same night multiple times using a time machine.

The movie has its plot weakness, but luckily it has strong witty leads in Kaley Cuoco and Pete Davidson, who easily cover up any cracks. Numerous strong jokes are exchanged too but what audiences will find more intriguing is how the time travel device plays on social media by enabling the lovebirds to delete and edit sections of their lives.

1 When We First Met Emphasizes On Perfection

Similar to Meet Cute, the Netflix film, When We First Met also focuses on the same date night. However, while the night in the previous film is perfect enough to be revisited again and again, this one is so blemished that the and keeps trying to correct it.

The movie thus provides commentary on modern-day dating and the desperation to impress. Watching the man mess up is funny but watching him go back in time multiple times is inspiring as it highlights the importance of resilience and dedication in everyday life.

NEXT: 10 Good Comedies That Would Have Been Better As Dramas

The 10 Funniest Time Travel Movies, Ranked

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There are some more serious-minded sci-fi movies that explore time travel, sure, like The Terminator films, Looper , and Primer . But time travel is also a somewhat ridiculous and probably even impossible concept in so many ways, and that makes it something filmmakers are more than happy to have some fun with. Enter the more light-hearted time travel movies; those that also function as comedies.

Below are some notable ones, ranked roughly in terms of how funny they are . A couple have some more dramatic moments, but all generally function as comedy films alongside being time travel stories. Also, this will mostly focus on time travel films over time loop movies, so that disqualifies a couple of notable movies that are more about being stuck in time repeating rather than traveling through (sorry, Groundhog Day and Palm Springs ).

10 'Back to the Future Part III' (1990)

Director: robert zemeckis.

Even if the first two movies are better , Back to the Future Part III still ends up being a solid conclusion to the Back to the Future trilogy, and does have an admittedly creative premise. After the first movie went back to the past, and the second spent time in the past and the future, Back to the Future III opts to go way back into the past; about a century, rather than a few decades.

As such, it ends up being a Western, raising the stakes surrounding getting back to the future because it’s so far back, and because Doc Brown finds love in the past. It’s a good thing the saga ended up concluding here , because there probably would’ve been further diminishing returns if there had been a fourth part. As it stands, Back to the Future feels pretty good – and certainly complete – as a trilogy.

Back to the Future Part III

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9 'Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure' (1989)

Director: stephen herek.

There’s a charmingly silly set-up for Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure , but the execution and overall endearing quality of the film ensures it works. Principally, it follows two high school slackers – the titular Bill and Ted – as they utilize a time machine for the purposes of not failing their history class, what with the unprecedented ability to actually go back and see the parts of history they need to be knowledgeable about.

Anyone wanting a “realistic” take on time travel won’t get it here, but those after a movie following two lovable doofuses fooling around with time travel will find that in spades within Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure . It’s also a valuable film for the fact that it helped make Keanu Reeves a star , even if it’s quite at odds with the sorts of action-focused movies he’d later become well-known for starring in .

Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure

8 'austin powers: the spy who shagged me' (1999), director: jay roach.

The first Austin Powers movie, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery , was about a man out of time, but not necessarily a time travel movie in the traditional sense. The titular Austin Powers was cryogenically frozen in the late 1960s and unfrozen in a largely changed world 30 years later. The sequel, The Spy Who Shagged Me , escalates things by incorporating actual time travel .

Austin Powers and his nemesis, Dr. Evil , go back to the 1960s, with this setting allowing the series to even more explicitly parody the sorts of old-school James Bond movies that were being made around that time in history. It’s a solid sequel, though perhaps not quite as great as the original (at least both are better than Goldmember , which has its moments, but not as many).

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

7 'about time' (2013), director: richard curtis.

Alongside all these other comedic time travel movies, About Time sticks out on account of it being a little more serious overall. It’s still generally funny for the most part, functioning as a romantic comedy with time travel elements, though there are consequences of time travel explored throughout. In other words, it’s about the ups and downs of something that people probably won’t ever be able to do for real, and how it would impact real-life relationships.

It's not perfectly done, but About Time is an admirably ambitious blending of various genres, and it jumps around between feeling funny, heartwarming, and tear-jerking . It’s hard to call any time travel movie realistic, necessarily, but About Time might well feel the most grounded, and the stakes are a good deal more personal and contained compared to other more action-focused or explosive time travel romps.

6 'Time Bandits' (1981)

Director: terry gilliam.

Terry Gilliam has always had a singular style , making movies on his own terms for better or worse, though Time Bandits might well be one of his most approachable and broadly appealing movies, if not his most. It’s family-friendly though not exclusively a kid’s movie, focusing on a young boy who goes on a journey through history with a group of time-traveling dwarfs.

It’s all a bit outlandish-sounding on paper, but the execution of Time Bandits is genuinely charming and undoubtedly creative. Gilliam’s firing on all cylinders and making something that’s comedic, sci-fi-related, fantastical, and a little fairytale-esque, all at once . It’s the sort of old-fashioned movie that feels of its time, but also a little out of time (funnily enough), existing entirely on its own and having an undeniably unique tone throughout.

Time Bandits

5 'back to the future part ii' (1989).

Though it doesn’t quite equal the first movie, Back to the Future Part II is an overall very good sequel , and a clever blend of recycling things that worked the first time around while pushing things forward narratively in other ways. Yes, 1955 is traveled to in both movies, but Back to the Future Part II also memorably goes forward in time to 2015… which is now in the past, technically, but such is life/time.

Rather than feeling like Back to the Future Part II , you could almost call this film Back to the Future Squared (to the power of two). It multiplies things to dizzying effect and feels even more high stakes, not to mention a tiny bit darker… not enough to feel overly grim or serious, sure, but it is a film that takes a few risks while also delivering a premise that feels in line, to some extent, with the original.

Back to the Future Part II

4 'summer time machine blues' (2005), director: katsuyuki motohiro.

An underappreciated time travel movie, and perhaps one of the most overall underrated international sci-fi movies ever made , Summer Time Machine Blues deserves a bigger fanbase than it’s seemingly built up to date. It’s a small-scale time travel movie in the best of ways, with a series of chaotic events unfolding because a group of students use a time machine to fix their air conditioner’s broken remote.

It's a film about capturing the heat, occasional boredom, and endless wonder of summer when you're young, playing out in a way that’s oddly relatable and tangible, as far as time travel movies go. It’s simple and a little silly at times, sure, but it all feels very intentional. Summer Time Machine Blues is just an overall good time, and a potential cult classic patiently awaiting true cult classic status .

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3 'Army of Darkness' (1992)

Director: sam raimi.

Perhaps it’s a tiny bit of a stretch to call Army of Darkness a time travel movie , but the entire wild plot of the film only happens because Ash Williams finds himself whisked back hundreds of years in the past at the end of Evil Dead 2 . That film was already pretty comedic, but Army of Darkness goes even further into slapstick territory, being more of an action/comedy film than a horror movie.

It’s not particularly scary, and outside the time travel, it’s also not really a science fiction movie . But what Army of Darkness does succeed in being is hilarious, over-the-top, and consistently entertaining . It’s a glorious and strange conclusion to the original Evil Dead trilogy , and it’s also impossible to overstate how much fun it is as its own distinctive film.

Army of Darkness

2 'beyond the infinite two minutes' (2020), director: junta yamaguchi.

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is a film with an innovative approach to the topic of time travel, not being easily definable as a time travel movie in the traditional sense, but also feeling distinctive from the kind of time loop comedy perfected by Groundhog Day . It’s a movie about a screen that lets people see two minutes into the future, and what happens when a group of people slowly realize the potential things such a device can allow.

The fun of Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is seeing things escalate and get more mind-bending, so it’s best not to spoil too much beyond the set-up. It’s also a movie that’s ambitiously filmed, done in a way that makes the whole film look like it was shot in one take . It’s also shot in real-time… sort of. Again, the playing around with time travel complicates things, but in a fun way. It’s a charming movie with a playful sense of humor throughout, and perhaps even a modern low-budget classic .

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes

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1 'Back to the Future' (1985)

To the surprise of no one (especially considering the sequels have already been mentioned, and referred to as debatably inferior), Back to the Future can be crowned the best comedic time travel movie ever made. It’s the one to which all other funny movies about traveling through time are compared, and it’s just so efficiently written, directed, and acted throughout, feeling largely perfect .

It revolves around one young man being sent back 30 years, and having to tread carefully so as to not alter history too much, or else he runs the risk of never being born and ceasing to exist. Back to the Future is a nearly impossible-to-dislike film, and it’s endured in a way that makes the sheer idea of it ever being remade sound preposterous. It’s a classic, it’s a clever sci-fi film, it’s an entertaining comedy… it just works super well , but you probably knew that already.

• Back to the Future

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20 Best Time-Travel Shows Ranked

If you could travel back and forth through time, where would you go? What would you do? Who would you talk to? Even better, if you were writing a book, making a movie, or working on a television show about time travel, what would you include? The best TV shows about time travel all feature characters who visit other eras for various compelling (or even life-threatening) reasons. Maybe it's to prevent a coming apocalypse, maybe it's just to save one person's life — but as many of these shows teach, small changes can have big effects, and many of these characters learn that their time-traveling can change the world.  

Now, there are some great time travel-adjacent shows that don't quite fit this list. A fun romp like "Early Edition," for example, utilizes a time-traveling newspaper and potentially a time-traveling cat, but doesn't in and of itself feature a lot of time travel. Likewise, something like "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" is rooted in a time travel premise, but stays mostly in one time. With all that said, here's a look at our choices for the 20 best time travel shows on TV.

Save the cheerleader, save the world. That's what future Hiro Nakamura (Masi Oka) tells present-day Hiro when he appears to him from the future, and that's what establishes "Heroes" as way more than just a superhero show.

The NBC series follows a group of regular people who develop special powers, not unlike mutants in the "X-Men" series, after a mysterious worldwide eclipse. Each character gains their own individual abilities. Claire Bennet (Hayden Panettiere) develops the ability to heal from any injury. Senator Nathan Petrelli (Adrian Pasdar) gains the ability to fly, while his brother Peter (Milo Ventimiglia) can temporarily absorb others' powers. Still, few of these characters have cooler abilities than Hiro, who can influence the space-time continuum. This means he can teleport, slow down time — and, of course, time travel.   

Understandably, Hiro's power set becomes a serious asset throughout the series, and his path to perfect his abilities is one of "Heroes'" strongest story arcs. The first few times he travels through time don't go as planned, and throughout the series, things can get in the way of him ending up where he wants to go or when he wants to be. While Hiro's time-traveling is just one part of the larger story, it's definitely one of the show's highlights – especially since Oka is so darn charming as the character.

19. 11.22.63

One of the best Stephen King TV series out there, the eight-episode "11.22.63" follows a man named Jake Epping (James Franco). He's a relatively normal guy who receives a chance to change history when his friend Al (Chris Cooper) tells him he's found a way to travel back in time. Al tells Jake that the portal he's discovered goes back to the year 1960 and that he's been working on a plan to stop the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Al's age and advancing cancer diagnosis prevent him from following through on the plan, however, and he asks Jake to take over for him. Jake agrees, but soon his quest is met with pushback from a mysterious source. As it turns out, the past doesn't want to be changed, and every step Jake takes toward preventing JFK's assassination leads to more cracks in the timeline. 

A charming and exciting time travel drama, "11.22.63" is a well-executed, twisty tale that only ranks so low on this list because it's in such great company. If you're looking for a quick, self-contained time travel miniseries that revolves around one of modern America's most notable events, this show is well worth a watch. 

When Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 crash lands on a deserted island, wacky and scary things start happening to the survivors. ABC's "Lost" deals with flashbacks, flash-forwards, mysterious groups that already have a presence on the island, a black smoke monster — and, as it turns out, an ancient battle between good and evil. One of the great appointment television shows before streaming broke through, "Lost" had fans talking about it and theorizing about its mysteries on a weekly basis.

The sci-fi drama captivated viewers for six seasons, and though time travel is referenced throughout the entire series run, it plays the biggest role in Season 4. As the island itself leaps from place to place and from time to time, the main group of characters jumps with it, encountering previous versions of themselves and island events that occurred in the past, and suffering from the effects of temporal displacement. The most beloved episode dealing with time travel is undoubtedly "The Constant," in which fan-favorite Desmond Hume (Henry Ian Cusick) figures out a way to stop his consciousness from jumping through time by finding his constant — his true love, Penny (Sonya Walger).

Of course, "Lost" is not just a time travel show, and famously covers such a wide variety of mysteries and sci-fi concepts that viewers might find it hard to keep up. As such, it ends up with this relatively low ranking. 

Like "Lost", "Fringe" is considered one of the most binge-worthy sci-fi shows of all time  but the fact that it isn't exclusively about time travel means it lands near the tail end of this particular list. The ABC show revolves around a science-fiction conglomerate that dabbles with interdimensional travel, wormholes, and alternate realities. Anna Torv stars as FBI Agent Olivia Dunham, who heads up the bureau's Fringe Division. With the help of "mad scientist" Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble), his estranged son Peter (Joshua Jackson), and their lab assistant Astrid Farnsworth (Jakisa Nicole), Dunham explores cases involving fringe science — be they about time travel, mind control, experiments gone wrong or any other strange and obscure criminal activity.

Time travel is more of a looming presence early in "Fringe," particularly present in the character of the Observer (Michael Cerveris), a bald, pale, genetically advanced human from the future. While Season 1 and Season 2 deal with the battle between two dimensions and realities, time travel really becomes an element in Season 3. Seasons 4 and 5 then deal with alternate timelines and the Observers that infiltrate the world from the future, intent on wiping out humanity. As you might expect, things can get a bit confusing, but the show sure is fun.

16. The Umbrella Academy

You have to respect a show that's so high-concept that time travel doesn't even get top billing. "The Umbrella Academy" boasts mysterious events, family drama, dance numbers, a talking chimpanzee, some of the cleverest superpowers in superhero shows, and a robot mom — and that's just scratching the surface. Based on "The Umbrella Academy" comics created by Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance fame, the Netflix show is a saga that exploits everything from the butterfly effect to the grandfather paradox for emotional and comedic impact.

The central Hargreeves family consists of a group of kids all born on the same day, adopted by the same eccentric billionaire (Colm Feore). He has trained them to protect the world with their various superpowers, but they aren't particularly great at it, and their strict upbringing has left them with a wide array of issues and deep rifts between them. The dysfunctional bunch starts out fairly estranged, but slowly bonds to save humanity from an apocalyptic event ... only to cause another potential apocalyptic event by sprinkling themselves across time.

In between the tears in the space-time continuum, "The Umbrella Academy" is ultimately an ensemble story about found (and re-found) family, as well as a truly unique superhero show where personal failure and the side-effects of costumed crimefighter life play a huge role. However, since Season 1 largely approaches time travel through Number Five (Aidan Gallagher) and the Temps Aeternalis agency, and much of Season 3 focuses on a present-day alternate reality, only the 1960s-themed Season 2 goes truly all in on the concept of sending all main characters to a different era. 

15. Sliders

"Sliders" is a 1990s sci-fi adventure series that features Jerry O'Connell and friends getting lost across the multiverse. O'Connell ("Stand By Me") plays boy genius Quinn Mallory, inventor of the Timer — a device that lets him and his friends "slide" through a wormhole vortex into different versions of Earth. The thing about wormhole vortexes, though, is that they like to misbehave, meaning Quinn and his buds never know where they're headed next on their adventures. This makes their quest to get back home to their own Earth a tricky one.

"Sliders" starts off fun and strong, and is at its best when having bonkers fun — like when Rembrandt (Cleavant Derricks) discovers a world where he could have been Elvis-level famous — and when it's exploring real-world issues in a high-concept dimension, like when the crew visits an Earth that treats men worse than women. Even if you've seen it before, it's definitely worth a re-watch, because "Sliders" is one  TV show that's better than you remember.

14. Continuum

On "Continuum," Kiera Cameron (Rachel Nichols) is a Protector – think futuristic government agent from even more futuristic equipment — from the year 2077. She gets transported to the year 2012 along with a group of murderous terrorists, forcing Kiera to remain in the past as she chases them down. Fortunately, her gadgets and knowledge of the past soon come in handy and she finds loyal allies. Unfortunately, her enemies also know their history and plan on altering it for their own gain. 

"Continuum" milks the premise for all it's worth, while avoiding the pitfall of becoming a run-in-the-mill procedural with an unchanging status quo. While Kiera does handle her share of case-of-the-week story arcs, they're often connected to the group she pursues, and she never lets go of her primary target of stopping the terrorists. In order to avoid disrupting the timeline, she also has to go to great lengths to avoid revealing that either she or her targets are time travelers — and when their actions inevitably end up changing the future, she has to deal with the consequences. 

13. Timeless

If ever there was a time travel show that was canceled too soon, it's Eric Kripke and Shawn Ryan's "Timeless." The NBC sci-fi series stars Abigail Spencer as the historian Lucy, Matt Lanter as the soldier Wyatt, and Malcolm Barrett as Rufus, a scientist who makes up a team trying to prevent a mysterious organization from altering the courses of history through time travel. They're up againsts Garcia Flynn (Goran Višnjić), who travels throughout history intending to influence major events like the Hindenburg disaster. However, the team soon realizes that the villain they thought they were fighting is much larger and infiltrates the historical timeline in ways they never imagined. 

Instead of focusing on the usual historical suspects, "Timeless" often highlights forgotten people of color, women, and lesser-known historical figures, giving them their due and celebrating their contributions to society. This element of the show can be seen in the way Rufus, for instance, is reluctant to join the team because he knows how Black people are treated in the eras they visit. 

Despite its intriguing concept, the show was canceled after Season 1, but fans caused such an uproar that NBC reversed the decision of canceling "Timeless"  and renewed it for another season. After Season 2, NBC pulled the plug once more, and again, the fans cried foul. In a kind of compromise, NBC greenlit a special two-hour series finale that ties up loose ends and gives much-needed closure to the story. 

12. 12 Monkeys

The "12 Monkeys" SyFy series is based on the 1995 film of the same name that stars Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt — though the series makes a fair few changes to stretch the plot into a four-season sci-fi drama. The series stars Aaron Sanford as James Cole, a scavenger from the year 2024 who's tasked with traveling to 2015 in order to stop the release of a biological weapon. In the movie, James is helped by a psychologist named Kathryn Railly played by Madeleine Stowe, but here, he befriends a virologist named Dr. Cassandra "Cassie" Railly (Amanda Schull). Pitt's character, Jeffrey Goines, is also gender-swapped here, with Emily Hampshire playing Jennifer Goines.

Like the movie, the series deals with the Cassandra Complex, the idea that we have a hard time believing concerns about the future, no matter how likely and provable they are. It also deals with circular time and the idea that past events can be affected by future ones. If those aspects of the film lift your time travel antennae, the four-season show dives even deeper.

11. Paper Girls

"Paper Girls" is a brilliant time travel show that was canceled way ahead of its time. Based on the comics by Brian K. Vaughan and Cliff Chiang, this Amazon series tells the story of a group of 1990s tween girls who get attacked by futuristic invaders. They manage to escape into the future, where one of the girls, Erin (Riley Lai Nelet ), meets her adult self (Ali Wong).

The show dispenses with grandfather paradox hand-wringing and instead uses the concept of the girls confronting their past and future selves, to brutally honest and hilarious effect. Young Erin is horrified to find out how much of herself she's abandoned by the time she turns into Old Erin, and refuses to let life work out that way. It motivates Erin to want to return to her home time even more — this kid has a clock to beat. However, there are two sides to the coin, and Old Erin is also able to care for her young self in ways she never felt able to when she was younger. It's a beautiful and potent visual metaphor that other characters also make good on. 

All in all, "Paper Girls" is a feast for the eyes as much as its ensemble cast is a feast for the soul. Plus, Jason Mantzoukas playfully chewing scenery as the ominous Grand Father? This show could have lasted until the end of time — or at least until Season 2.

10. Timewasters

"Timewasters" is a time travel comedy about a Black British jazz band that accidentally time-slips back to 1920s London, among other timelines. The quartet stumbles into an earlier time perod via a disgusting elevator that, yes, doubles as a time machine. Once the crew shows up in the past, they're treated like freaks, but they gain some measure of success as musicians. While the crew eventually tries to return to the present, they also have a "Back to the Future" moment when they seemingly get stuck in the 1950s.

"Timewasters" is full of funny jokes and great music, and it's a groundbreaking show in a number of ways. "People like us never get to time travel — it's what white people do, like skiing or brunch," creator Daniel Lawrence Taylor told the Royal Television Society . "For me, race is so important." Taylor also stars in "Timewasters," along with Kadiff Kirwan ("Slow Horses"), Adelayo Adedayo ("Some Girls"), and Samson Kayo ("Our Flag Means Death"). The show is also an excellent destination if you're into spotting a variety of British actors and comedians ... including Joseph Quinn, who went on to rise to fame as Eddie Munson on "Stranger Things."

9. Outlander

Based on the series of novels by Diana Gabaldon, Starz's "Outlander" follows the story of a World War II nurse named Claire (Caitriona Balfe) who finds herself thrown back in time after visiting a circle of mysterious Druid stones. She arrives in 18th Century Scotland and, after being taken in by a band of gruff Scots, she marries the dashing young Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) in order to avoid being taken prisoner by her real husband's (Tobias Menzies) apparent evil ancestor, Black Jack Randall (Menzies). Claire lives through a time of great upheaval in Scotland when tensions with British control are rising and history-making battles loom in the near future. Despite being initially reluctant to stay, she and Jamie fall deeply in love, and their romance remains the backbone of the series.

The entire "Outlander" timeline  takes some time to explain, what with several 20th-century characters taking the trip to the 18th century and the show covering versions of notable real-world historical events. Without further spoilers, all there is to say is that if you enjoy time travel shows that lean heavily toward historical drama, "Outlander" is where it's at. Also, if you view Tobias Menzies as an incorrigible dweeb due to his performance as Edmure Tully on "Game of Thrones," his monstrous "Outlander" villain is guaranteed to erase that image.

8. Quantum Leap

"Quantum Leap" stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a physicist who invents a way to travel through time. When the corporation funding his project threatens to shut it down, Sam uses himself as a guinea pig to test out the method. He finds himself thrown back in time, but in another person's body. The only other entity aware of his 'leap" is a hologram of his colleague and best friend, Admiral Al Calavicci (Dean Stockwell). Al tells Sam that he must correct things that went wrong in the past before being allowed to leap back to his own time and body, and can only use the resources of the project's supercomputer, Ziggy.

With Sam leaping back and forth into different bodies at different times, the show uses a variant of the traditional procedural set up. New characters turn up to guest star and Sam gets to save the day, have a fling, and learn something new before leaping to the next destination, which just might be home one of these days.  

The series ran on NBC from 1989 to 1993, but its combination of time travel and case-of-the-week antics has proved enduring enough that "Quantum Leap" even gets a shout-out in "Avengers: Endgame." Despite being over three decades old, it remains a cool time travel series worth checking out.

7. The 4400

In the opening scenes of "The 4400," an enormous ball of light drops 4,400 people at the foot of Mount Rainier in Washington. They soon realize that they were all taken from some other point in time and deposited into the year 2004, unaged and without any memories of where they'd been. At first, everyone assumes that these people have been abducted by aliens. However, it soon turns out that the truth is far more time travel-related.

The returned people soon start developing "Heroes"-style powers that range from telekinesis to telepathy and super-strength, which people from the future have entrusted with to prevent various catastrophic events that they want to avoid in their timeline. Unfortunately, the 2004 government considers the powered folks a threat, and inhibits their powers with a neurological drug. 

The stories that unfold from this setup are exactly as complex and entertaining as you'd imagine, with various members of the titular group treating their powers in different ways and society having a hard time dealing with them. Unfortunately, "The 4400" ended abruptly after four seasons on a somewhat ambiguous note, but even so, it's a fun show to revisit.

6. Travelers

In Netflix's "Travelers," time-traveling operatives from a post-apocalyptic future are tasked with preventing certain events that have led to the downfall of society in their own present day of 2018. The travelers' consciousness takes over a person in the desired time who's just about to die, and the operative then lives out the rest of that person's days though with the mission in mind ... and a strict set of rules they must follow. Apart from a list of ways they're not allowed to interact with the past, they're also strictly forbidden from communicating with other known travelers outside their team, save for special circumstances dictated by the Director, who communicates by temporarily taking over children. 

It's a unique and complex premise, and the way the travelers scope out potential targets for takeover and learn to live as them is as timely as it comes — they use social media, GPS locations, and other readily available online information for their time-travel tricks. This adds a layer of present-day dread to the show's fascinating take on time travel. 

Loki Laufeyson (Tom Hiddleston) meets his match when he comes up against the Time Variance Authority in one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most ambitious Disney+ shows, "Loki." The TVA is so dedicated to maintaining a particular sacred timeline that they purge all alternate realities where someone made a choice they deem wrong, which might not always make sense, but precision isn't the point here. It's the idea of playfulness versus control. 

The Loki we see here is an alternate-timeline variant of the one the audiences are familiar with, and thus starts the show in full "The Avengers" villain mode before life — and time — starts grinding him down. Working with TVA agent Mobius M. Mobius (Owen Wilson), he starts redeeming himself by tracking down an apparently evil version of himself, Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) ... and ultimately tackling the biggest challenges time can offer.  

The God of Mischief's surprisingly human path of reckoning is the heart of a show that's deliciously stylish, silly, and sometimes scary. "Loki" takes a cops-and-robbers crime caper into time travel territory and explores hefty themes with a light touch, from mindless compliance to self-serving overseers to criminalizing anyone deemed different. "Loki" isn't just a time travel show — it's a show about everything time can offer and more, with characters dancing between eras as you might step from room to room. Also, it has Alligator Loki, who's objectively the best Loki of all. 

If "Loki" is too light-hearted for you, Netflix's "Dark" might be your jam ... provided you can make sense of its incredibly convoluted time travel storyline. Four families weave a tangled web of time travel in this German-language psychological thriller about missing kids, a rotten town, and how almost all of our secrets come out in time. In other words, it's a good time travel show, but it's definitely not a feel-good time travel show. 

"Dark" follows its many characters over the course of their lifetimes and, at one point, has three timelines going at once. Part of the intrigue and challenge of watching the show is trying to understand how (and when) each timeline threads into the other. If you decide to watch it, it's best to have an evidence board and plenty of red yarn ready to chart the relationships and betrayals the town of Winden sees over the years.

While "Dark" is as much a show about human connection and how frayed it can become as it is about time travel, it's also the MVP of using as many time travel paradoxes as possible during its three-season run. "Dark" is also an innovator in the field of wormhole placement. Wormholes are already not to be trusted, but a wormhole underneath a nuclear power plant? No, thank you.

3. Beforeigners

What happens when a bunch of Viking-era warriors, 19th-century figures, and Stone Age people pop up in modern-day Oslo? "Beforeigners" attempts to answer that question while navigating twisty murder mysteries with such efficiency that the Norwegian series may be best described as "crime travel." Adding to the intrigue is the way it focuses more on the present-day relationship between the time refugees and their modern counterparts than on how they showed up in the first place.

"Beforeigners" centers around the odd-couple partnership between hardened police detective Lars Haaland (Nicolai Cleve Broch) and eager new Viking police recruit Alfhildr Enginnsdóttir (Krista Kosonen), who investigate things like the murder of a Stone Age victim and even look into crimes with possible ties to Jack the Ripper.

The metaphor of time migration is an apt one for immigration, and this sci-fi show explores tricky real-life issues with plenty of scope. Creators Anne Bjørnstad and Eilif Skodvin got their start in comedy writing, and their commitment to the bit is evident in the show, including the language used. "Early on, I contacted researchers, professors who helped us. We also constructed the language that Stone Age people spoke, and even with the language from the 19th century: We worked on it to make it sound right," Bjørnstad told Variety . "Why not invest in language, which is such a big part of a person's identity?"

2. Russian Doll

"Russian Doll" could be pitched as "Natasha Lyonne's 'Groundhog Day,'" but that still wouldn't hint at half of the show's charm and emotion. This Netflix offering is a mind-bending time loop dramedy that's a stylish and surreal exploration of life, death, and all the trauma in between. Season 1 of "Russian Doll" features Nadia (Lyonne) stuck reliving her 36th birthday until she inevitably dies and resets back to her friend's bathroom. Later in the season, she discovers a fellow time traveler (Charlie Barnett). They quickly realize that the way out of their dead ends and into a new life is through helping each other.

Season 2 takes some departures from the recursive reality set up in the first season, bending viewers' minds even more thoroughly. "Russian Doll" goes deep, but keeps a sense of humor even as it twists the knife in its characters' hearts — and their timelines. The show keeps audiences just oriented enough by linking its time loops to recognizable spaces and sound cues. You will never look at the subway the same way again, and you will probably never get Harry Nilsson's "Gotta Get Up" out of your head.

1. Doctor Who

Really, could any other show top a list like this?  The untold history of "Doctor Who"  goes all the way back to 1963, when the show premiered on the BBC. The series follows the adventures of a Time Lord who calls themselves the Doctor — an alien being from the planet Gallifrey who travels through space and time on a craft called the TARDIS, which is charmingly disguised as an old-fashioned British police call box and is famously bigger on the inside.  Every Doctor has their own companions  – humans who follow the Doctor throughout space and time, helping people, battling new and recurring villains, and dealing with the assorted wibbly-wobbly stuff on the Doctor's timeline .

The original series ran from 1963 through 1989 and established the neat trick of recasting the Doctor every few years or so, thanks to the premise that the character has multiple lives and can reincarnate himself into different physical bodies. The modern series was revived in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor, and talented actors like David Tennant (twice), Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, Jodie Whitaker, and Ncuti Gatwa have followed in his footsteps. Even without the fact that no other show has time travel quite as integrated into its very premise as "Doctor Who," the show's sheer longevity and cultural impact are more than enough to make it the king of the time travel hill. 

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The 23 best time travel movies of all time

From Back to the Future to Looper to Palm Springs, the time travel narrative traverses the film spectrum. Here are EW’s picks for 23 of the best. 

Despite time travel being considered more of a science fiction trope, there is something positively enchanting about the idea of being able to go back to another time or forward into the future, even if just for a moment. While this list deals with a mix of films, some of which consider the hazards of time travel (mostly through time loops), for the most part, these films see time travel as a net positive. Time travel is also a sphere that is mostly occupied by television, thanks to shows like Doctor Who , Quantum Leap , and Lost , even though the number of time travel movies has shot up over the past two decades or so.

Unfortunately, the earliest this list goes is 1962; while there are some time travel movies from the Old Hollywood days, they lack a lot of the imagination and thoughtfulness about the nature of time that the movies on this list bring. This list is a mix of straight dramas, killer action, rollicking comedies, and heartfelt romance — and sometimes, all of those elements exist in a single movie. This list is unranked, and mostly grouped together according to each movie's particular "genre" of time travel: conventional time machines, time loops, magical circumstances, and missions to save the past and the future at the same time. These are 23 of the best time travel movies of all time.

La Jetée (1962)

Kicking off an unranked list of time-travel movies chronologically seems like a good place to start, actually. La Jetée is also probably the most experimental of the films on this list. A French Left Bank short film set in a post-nuclear apocalypse future told through narration and photographs, this is not the first time-travel film by any means, but its impact on the time-travel movies that came after, like 1995's 12 Monkeys , cannot be understated.

A young prisoner (Davos Hanich) is forced to undergo torturous experiments to induce time travel by using impactful memories — and unlike those who came before him, he succeeds, but he ends up discovering a time loop in the process. This is an incredibly stylish telling of what is now a familiar type of story, but in 1962, it was absolutely revolutionary. Honestly, because of its unique technical and visual elements, it still is.

Watch La Jetée on Criterion Channel

Time After Time (1979)

Nicholas Meyer is behind not one, but two brilliant time-travel movies that made this list. For this particular film, he not only wrote the screenplay but also made his directorial debut. The tale of two 19th-century former friends, H.G. Wells ( Malcolm McDowell , unusually wide-eyed and adorable) and John Leslie Stevenson a.k.a. Jack the Ripper ( David Warner , never more menacing yet charming), as they chase each other through 1979 San Francisco thanks to Wells' time machine, Time After Time doesn't spend too much time on the science of time travel, and it's better for it.

This is, in essence, a romantic thriller, as Wells falls for quirky bank clerk Amy ( Mary Steenburgen , delightfully independent) while in search of his old friend turned enemy. It has chase scenes, interrogation sequences, gory murder (courtesy of Jack), and a delightful sense of humor as Wells learns to navigate the future. He thought it would be a utopia; instead, he finds a world in sore need of his idealism, kindness, and dedication to justice.

Where to rent or buy Time After Time

The Back to the Future trilogy (1985, 1989, 1990)

While it's true that the first Back to the Future movie is probably one of the greatest time-travel movies of all time, with its two sequels living in its shadows, all three are essential to understanding the character of Marty McFly ( Michael J. Fox ). The Back to the Future trilogy is an '80s version of a bildungsroman about a teenager who has to learn that there's much more to life than being, well, a teenager. The first film, confidently directed by Robert Zemeckis , is imbued with so much humor and heart, it's all too easy to get sucked into a plot that should be convoluted, but that works so awfully well.

Back to the Future Part II evokes a bit less feeling than the original, and it's significantly grittier, but it's still " another fantastic voyage " as EW's Ira Robbins wrote, flinging Marty and Doc Brown ( Christopher Lloyd ) into a slightly prescient future version of 2015. Back to the Future Part III , meanwhile, restores the heart, but its story is slighter as it wraps up Marty's saga, sending Doc off on a brand new adventure all his own. While the first Back to the Future movie is required viewing for any time travel enthusiast, stick around for the rest of the trilogy, too: Even if this franchise's view of time travel is riddled with potential paradoxes, they are entertaining paradoxes nonetheless.

Watch the Back to the Future trilogy on Tubi

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)

"Be excellent to each other" is the reigning philosophy of Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure , the adventurous, fun-loving, stoner time-travel comedy that spawned a franchise, including a third installment released in 2020. Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves absolutely triumph in the roles of lackadaisical teenagers Bill and Ted, respectively, as they journey through time to bring back legends in order to pass their history class.

If the film seems silly, that's because it is meant to be. Whereas the Back to the Future franchise intended to craft a legend, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure kicks off the journey with George Carlin as the duo's time travel guide and mentor, Rufus, who intends to enlighten the pair on their mission and destiny. In any other film, the two budding legends, with their free-wheeling ideals and misadventures, would bring down the fabric of time and space itself. However, Excellent Adventure is not a time-travel film that forces you to think too hard about its premise; instead, it invites you to just kick back and have a good time.

Watch Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure on Amazon Prime Video

Meet the Robinsons (2007)

Meet the Robinsons received mixed reviews when it first debuted, but of the 3-D animated movies that came out of Disney Animation in the 2000s, it's probably the most imaginative and outstanding of the bunch. Following a young orphan as he goes on a fantastic voyage into the future with another young boy who is a time traveler (kind of), Robinsons is stylish to a point and is filled with heart. It's probably also the most kid-friendly entry on this list, but its good-natured humor and complicated emotional palette will appeal to adults, too.

It also fits neatly into a more classic genre of time travel, with time machines, eccentric inventors, and kids looking to make an impact — not just on their time, but on the time they find themselves in, be it the near future or the distant past.

Watch Meet the Robinsons on Disney+

Run Lola Run (1998)

This is, in many ways, the time loop movie; debuting in 1998 to rave reviews, Run Lola Run , a German experimental thriller, is one you will not be able to shake, long after you've finished a viewing (or even a second, to catch what you missed the first time). The protagonist, Lola (Franka Potente, in a punishingly physical performance), is forced to relive a scenario, again and again, involving saving her boyfriend Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) from certain death.

Potente's performance alone is worth the watch, and of the films on this list, Run Lola Run is actually one of the shorter ones, using its 80-minute runtime to its full advantage. The other time loop movies on this list are also worthy viewing experiences in a lot of ways, but for a pure shot of adrenaline, you can't miss the film EW deemed "a masterful pop piece, humming with raw romance, youth, and energy." If you're interested in more of director Tom Tykwer 's work, he also codirected 2012's Cloud Atlas with the Wachowskis , which, while not a pure time-travel movie, certainly plays with the intertwined nature of time and memory.

Where to rent or buy Run Lola Run

Source Code (2011)

Duncan Jones made a splash with his 2009 feature directorial debut Moon , a moody, philosophical insight into possible lunar labor practices in the future. He followed that thoughtful film up with Source Code , which, while not a movie that could always be described as "thoughtful," could certainly be described as moody. Hitchcockian in a sense, Source Code follows the misadventures of a U.S. Army pilot ( Jake Gyllenhaal ), as he attempts to stop a terrorist attack on a Chicago commuter train — repeatedly.

Source Code does have something to say about the commodification of bodies and minds in the service of the so-called "greater good"; while Gyllenhaal's Captain Stevens' services are no doubt helpful, are they necessary, the film asks. Is it really a good idea to force someone to relive an incredibly stressful idea, over and over again? The movie has its funny moments, even in the thick of all the intense chase scenes through the train; EW noted back in 2012, "The director finds moments of humor in unlikely corners of that train of fools." Indeed. If you enjoyed a film like The Commuter (2018), but thought it could use a time loop and the potential of alternate realities, Source Code is your next mandatory viewing.

Watch Source Code on Showtime

Looper (2012)

Before Rian Johnson introduced us to Benoit Blanc or journeyed to a galaxy far, far, away , he made the tangled time-travel film fittingly called Looper . Starring Bruce Willis , Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a younger Bruce Willis, and Emily Blunt , Looper tells the tale of a contract killer sent after his next target: himself. This is a complicated film, and it is imperfect in a lot of ways, but its brutal appraisal of a possible dystopian future, and the efforts one man takes to prevent that future, are worth the amount of head-scratching you might find yourself doing throughout.

That Johnson likes his narratives to be impenetrable Gordian knots that only his designated protagonist can solve can perhaps be frustrating to the audience. However, if there's one thing that the Knives Out franchise seems to have reinforced, it's that not trying to unpack the mysteries of his work might work to your advantage as a viewer, because Johnson will probably have someone explain what just happened by the end, anyway. Like most of his films, Looper has a social conscience lurking within it as well. As EW's Lisa Schwarzbaum noted , "It's time to wipe the drops from our eyes or else get stuck in a loop, an endless cycle, a rut" about Looper 's core tenet back in 2012. It's a worthy takeaway from a film obsessed with self-fulfilling prophecies people find themselves within.

Watch Looper on Freevee

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Time loop movies need some incredible editing in order to really succeed, and Doug Liman 's enthralling Edge of Tomorrow certainly does so on that point. While Tom Cruise is the lead as a cowardly lion–turned–near-super soldier, all eyes are on Emily Blunt as Rita Vrataski, who rules this movie as one of the few heroes this dystopian, post-alien invasion world actually has left. While the quest Cruise and Blunt go on may be a bit convoluted, the film is so incredibly entertaining because it's so sharply cut, keeping up the pace even as we see similar things over and over and over again.

A tip of the hat must, of course, go to the action, which is as compelling as you would expect from a mega-star who seems determined these days to do all of his own stunts. In an era of often depressing science fiction, Edge of Tomorrow , as EW's Chris Nashawaty mentioned , is a fun, "deliciously subversive kind of blockbuster" to immerse your senses in for two hours, if nothing else.

Watch Edge of Tomorrow on Max

Interstellar (2014)

While this film might technically be considered more of a space opera than a time-travel movie, there's no reason it can't be both. Christopher Nolan 's Interstellar is a dazzling portrait not just of space travel, but of the love between a father and daughter that stretches over the thin fabric of both time and space. Matthew McConaughey as the astronaut father has never been so serious, but acclaim needs to go to Jessica Chastain and Anne Hathaway as Nolan's strongest women characters to date.

Interstellar varies between being almost too tense to stand, and, at other points, utterly relaxed. As a cinematic experience, it feels all-encompassing, using every possible outstanding special effect to draw its viewers in before the script hits them with emotional truth. While Nolan can certainly be considered " cold and clinical " as EW noted, his space-journeying meditation on the intersection between love and time is anything but.

Watch Interstellar on Paramount+

Palm Springs (2020)

Releasing a time loop movie during a global pandemic where life felt increasingly repetitive and bizarre was certainly a strategy for Hulu and Neon with Palm Springs , but it paid off. While the film was certainly developed long before COVID-19, the scenario of two wedding guests trying to escape the situational loop they've found themselves definitely resonated at the time, and it still does. Palm Springs may seem serious from the above description, but it is actually a fun sci-fi-tinged tale that is largely driven by the comedic skills of leads Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti .

EW noted that the movie avoids " true discomfort comedy ," and honestly, it's all the better for it. If Palm Springs had been angrier, it wouldn't hit home so hard, and it also wouldn't be nearly as entertaining. Instead, it's an often sweet rom-com that doesn't take itself or its completely made-up time loop physics too seriously. It was a Sundance darling for a reason, never quite letting up on the wild ride it takes its characters or its viewers on over the course of its 90 minutes.

Watch Palm Springs on Hulu

Somewhere in Time (1980)

Somewhere in Time might employ one of the strangest methods of time travel of all the movies on this list: time travel by hypnosis, of all things. (And self-induced hypnosis, for that matter.) Time travel on such shaky ground can't possibly hold up, and it somewhat doesn't, in the end. Science fiction great Richard Matheson adapted his own novel into a lackadaisical screenplay for this film, starring Christopher Reeve in a perfectly tragic role as the young man who gives his all for a woman (Jane Seymour) he can never really have.

In many ways, Somewhere in Time feels like a curio of the era from which it came, serving as a time capsule of how stories were told in the late-'70s and early-'80s. That is actually not a mark against it; this is a film that is just a peak tragic romance in a lot of ways; special nods must also go to Christopher Plummer as the young woman's cynical mentor, who seems to possess a certain foresight about the impossibility of Reeve's character. If you want a time-travel movie that is beautifully romantic, from its iconic score to its grand cinematography, you shouldn't stray from Somewhere in Time .

Watch Somewhere in Time on Tubi

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)

The tale of a grown, about-to-be-divorced woman forced to relive her high school days and her courtship with a dorky-cool musician, Peggy Sue Got Married might be one of Francis Ford Coppola 's most small-scale movies, but it decidedly has the most soul of his catalog of mostly epics. Peggy Sue ( Kathleen Turner , in an Oscar-nominated performance) just wants to leave Charlie (Nicolas Cage) behind, but her time-traveling coma dream conspires against her to force her to reconsider. (It forces Charlie to become a better person, too.)

The film combines the cynicism of a rightfully embittered '80s housewife with the unbridled idealism of a '60s teenager to make one heck of a sincere cinematic concoction. That the film starts at a high school reunion could mean it becomes awkward very quickly, but instead, it's completely joyful. Whether Peggy Sue Got Married started a tradition of "person has some sort of crisis and subsequently ends up in another time" movies is unclear, but it does have a rather clear descendant in one of our next entries.

Where to rent or buy Peggy Sue Got Married

Kate & Leopold (2001)

Doesn't everyone want a young Hugh Jackman from the 19th century to fall out of the sky and into their lives? Leopold (Jackman) is a foppish and geeky, if not perfect, gentleman who quickly has Kate ( Meg Ryan ) falling for him despite her modern understanding of the world. That so many time-travel movies somehow end up in romantic territory is an interesting phenomenon, but one that does make sense. There is something appealing about falling for someone whose time is not your own.

Kate & Leopold is decidedly not a perfect film, although it is the first of director James Mangold 's and Jackman's collaborations (see 2017's Logan for the much grittier future fruits of their labor). It's fluffy, it's light, and it creates a paradox without even really acknowledging it. Someone looked at the Meg Ryan comedies of the '80s and '90s and asked, "But what if we made them science fiction?" It works in spite of itself, with Jackman's physical comedy as he plays " a doll of a boyfriend " and Ryan's sardonic tone carrying the day.

Watch Kate & Leopold on Paramount+

13 Going on 30 (2004)

When a 13-year-old girl is crushed after being tricked at her own birthday party, she makes a wish to be "30, flirty, and thriving," quickly waking up the next day to find herself just that, in the body of Jennifer Garner . Instead of traveling back to the past à la the protagonist of Peggy Sue Got Married , Jenna (Garner, Christa B. Allen) ends up in a potential future, where she is all the things she wished for, but definitely not as happy as she thought she would be.

The 2004 rom-com is a magical time travel tale — there's literally "magic wishing dust" — but that doesn't take away from the hilarity that comes with a 13-year-old trying to navigate an adult woman's life. Of course, in the end, Jenna learns her lesson — it's okay to just be young, for a little bit longer — but the journey she goes on as she discovers not just herself but also her true love ( Mark Ruffalo ) is worth all the silliness in the end.

Watch 13 Going on 30 on Max

Mirai (2018)

This lovely little gem directed by Japanese animation visionary Mamoru Hosoda tells the story of a little boy who unhappily gets a baby sister and ends up learning a lot of lessons about the past and the future. Kun (Moka Kamishiraishi) gets a chance to meet not only the grown, future version of his sister Mirai (Haru Kuroki) but also members of his family at different points in their lives. Mirai is a delightfully imaginative film with some gorgeous animation that contains some " mind-boggling visuals " as EW's Christian Holub pointed out.

It is also a genuinely heartwarming tearjerker; while all ends well for little Kun, the meditations this film offers on the nature of family bonds over the course of multiple generations might just leave you in a state of reflection on your own ties that bind. While many time-travel movies tell their stories from the perspective of youth, few unveil them through the eyes of a rambunctious preschooler, and gaining that perspective, in this case, allows for a truly precious journey.

Where to rent or buy Mirai

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

If you know anything about Star Trek , you know the fourth film is "the one with the whales," but if you don't know anything about the franchise, you probably also know that this one is "the one with the whales." Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home often gets acclaim as the funny Star Trek movie, but it brings a lot more than just comedy. The original crew of the Enterprise fling themselves back in time to save humpback whales in the past in order to save the future from a strange probe that threatens Earth...and will stop, but only if it hears some natural whalesong.

The crew finds themselves in 1986 San Francisco, so it's great that Time After Time's Nicholas Meyer returned to the franchise not as director (he helmed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ), but as a screenwriter. Watching these characters from a literal utopia navigate a world not designed for them creates not only dynamic humor but great tension as well. As they almost always do, the Enterprise team breaks all the rules in order to save the future as well as the whales. Or, as EW noted in a tribute to the film: "It has heart, and passion — Save the Whales! — and a tremendous sense of fun."

Watch Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home on Max

Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

Star Trek: First Contact doesn't particularly feel as much like a Star Trek movie as Voyage Home does, and EW, in fact, says it harnessed "a sleek, confident style fully independent of its predecessors." As a Trekkie, this may not be the most complimentary way of looking at it, but as a film fan, however, it might be the highest honor someone could bestow upon a movie within this franchise. Captain Jean-Luc Picard ( Patrick Stewart ) turns from a peace-loving diplomat to a Borg-slaying action star while the rest of his crew tries to get the inventor of the Warp Drive (the technology upon which the future relies) to stop drinking so much and actually invent the thing. James Cromwell, as the inventor, Zefram Cochrane, serves as the comedic relief for a remarkably serious and often scary film.

The Borg, '90s Star Trek 's biggest villain, are the main antagonists here, and they do provide some chilling action, even if the introduction that they can easily time travel would really wreck things for some future Trek series. Stewart manages the transition from his mild-mannered diplomat to traumatized warrior well, turning in one of his most ferocious performances. Star Trek: First Contact also gives us a look at a post-apocalyptic world in the midst of a recovery, and in that respect, it makes it both a thoughtful entry in the Trek canon and a time travel action-thriller with a brain.

Watch Star Trek: First Contact on Max

The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

What would a best time-travel films list be without including at least one of the Terminator movies? While an often brutal franchise with diminishing returns after James Cameron 's first two installments, the misadventures of an evil cyborg-turned-good (played to physical perfection by Arnold Schwarzenegger ) in a consistently dangerous world are always thrilling and entertaining.

Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, mother of the future's savior (and much, much more), is also due an acknowledgment; while the films are remembered for Schwarzenegger's portrayal of the T-800, Hamilton is the heart of this franchise a great deal of the time, as she refuses to die or let her son face the same fate, either. The first two Terminator films are so much more than "scary robots take over the world, everybody dies" – they're action-packed, bloody thrillers with startling narratives, pioneering visual effects, and, of course, time travel as the catalyst.

Watch The Terminator on Max

Where to rent or buy Terminator 2: Judgment Day

Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

"Wanted: Somebody to go back in time with me. This is not a joke...I have only done this once before. SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED": This is part of the joke classified ad from which this movie was inspired. You might inspire a more risky movie from the tone of the ad, but what you get is a light comedy that served as the first leading film role for Aubrey Plaza . This Colin Trevorrow -directed film isn't so much about time travel as it is about the cultural assumptions that surround the concept, and those who think it might be possible.

In that sense, it's a meta-narrative on nearly every time travel story which has come before it, and quite possibly, that will come after it. EW called it " a fable of 'redemption' "; redemption, and the acts of salvaging something, anything, for the benefit of the future, is a regular time travel theme, from all those time machines to all those time loops. Safety Not Guaranteed manages to explore these themes with a lot of irony and a splash of heart.

Where to rent or buy Safety Not Guaranteed

Related content:

• The Terminator movies, ranked
• Back to the Future cast: Where are they now?
• Let's talk about the plot of Interstellar

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5 best (& 5 worst) time travel comedies.

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Time travel isn't just for heady science fiction features. Characters jumping back and forth through the years or stuck in loops can be prime comedic material, too — at least when done right. From oddball slapsticks to rom-coms to fantasy epics, adding a bit of time travel into the mix is guaranteed to stir up trouble.

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H.G. Wells popularized the concept of time travel in his 1897 novella  The Time Machine . Little did Wells know his technological invention would be used decades later to make audiences laugh on the big screen. The best time travel comedies veer from formulaic plots and characterizations to tell unique stories, while the worst rely too heavily upon predictable, cornball genre tropes.

Best: Groundhog Day (1993)

Technically a time loop comedy,  Groundhog Day follows Phil Connor, a cynical TV weatherman played by Bill Murray, who finds himself reliving the titular day over and over again. Murray is hilarious in the role. Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliott make for excellent co-stars in the film, which is directed by Harold Ramis.

Groundhog Day 's influence persists into the present; series like Netflix's  Russian Doll  are clearly indebted to this comedy classic.

Worst: About Time (2013)

Despite its unique premise and genuine acting from Domhnall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams,  About Time is a decidedly bland rom-com. Gleeson plays Tim, a man with the ability to time travel, who uses it to his advantage romantically.

Tim falls for McAdams' character Mary, but happenstance keeps them from forming a lasting bond. In order to fix this, Tim keeps going back to his past to improve his chances of being united with Mary once and for all in the future.

Best: Back To The Future (1985)

Back to the Future may be the most iconic time travel movie ever. Robert Zemeckis blends science fiction, comedy, and action flawlessly in this tale of a high schooler who goes back in time from 1985 to 1955 in his friend Doc Brown's time-traveling DeLorean.

RELATED:  The 10 Best Time Travel Movies According to Rotten Tomatoes

Michael J. Fox plays protagonist Marty McFly, and Christopher Lloyd co-stars as the mad scientist, Doc Brown. Without this film and its sequels, pop culture would be woefully behind in hoverboard technology and deprived of sayings like, "Great Scott!"

Worst: 13 Going On 30 (2004)

Innocent and wholesome,  13 Going on 30 is a time travel comedy about Jenna Rink, 13-year-old girl who wishes she were 30 on her birthday. Jenna Rink wakes up the next morning in a strange New York City apartment to find her wish came true.

Jennifer Garner  plays Jenna at 30, basically portraying a tween trapped in a woman's body. While feelgood vibes abound in the movie, the laughs are few and far between.

Best: Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

Directed by  Jurassic World 's Colin Trevorrow,  Safety Not Guaranteed   is an offbeat, entertaining independent comedy. Mark Duplass plays Kenneth Calloway, a Seattle man who posts a classified ad seeking a time-traveling companion.

RELATED:  5 Best (& 5 Worst) Sci-Fi Time Travel Movies, According To IMDb

Three local magazine employees played by  Aubrey Plaza , Jake Johnson, and Karan Soni decide to investigate the ad. They soon realize that contrary to their original assumption, it may not actually be a hoax after all.

Worst: Click (2006)

One of Adam Sandler's worst comedies ,  C l ick uses a magical remote control as its time-traveling device. Sandler plays an overworked architect named Michael who meets the Angel of Death (whose name is Morty) in a Bed, Bath, and Beyond.

Played by Christopher Walken, Morty gives Michael a universal remote control that allows him to flash forward through bad or boring moments in his life as they happen. Kate Beckinsale co-stars as Michael's wife Donna, whose husband takes his newfound power too far.

Best: Bill And Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

Many time travel comedies have tried to capitalize on  Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure , a screwball story about two teenage slackers who travel back through time in order to gather historical figures for a high school presentation. Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves play the titular duo, who are guided by none other than George Carlin.

RELATED:  10 Time Travel Movies That Are Not Sci-Fi (According To IMDb) 

This comedy manages to combine low-brow culture and high-brow ideas to hysterical ends. What other movie contains references to Greek philosophy and  the music of Van Halen?

Worst: Austin Powers In Goldmember (2002)

Despite being extremely popular when they were released, Jay Roach's  Austin Powers movies have not aged well.  Goldmember , the third in the spy comedies starring Mike Myers , features a time travel plot so silly not even Beyoncé can save it.

Dr. Evil, Powers's arch-nemesis who is also played by Myers, plots to go back in time to 1975 in order to bring about the end of the world. Powers follows Dr. Evil to the disco era, where a lot of inane jokes and situational comedy ensues.

Best: Time Bandits (1981)

Part of Terry Gilliam's genre-defying "Trilogy of Imagination,"  Time Bandits joins 1985's  Brazil and 1988's  The Adventures of Baron Munchausen to form an epic fantasy narrative. In  Time Bandits , a young boy named Kevin joins a group of dwarves using a special map that helps them track down holes in the fabric of time.

Kevin's six dwarves use the map to steal treasure from different historical eras. Along the way, they encounter Napoleon, Robin Hood and King Agamemnon – the latter of whom is played by Sean Connery.

Worst: Hot Tub Time Machine (2010)

John Cusack, Rob Corddry, and Craig Robinson co-star as three vacationing friends who are sent back in time after a night of heavy drinking in a hot tub. The friends suddenly find themselves in 1986, where disaster meets them around every corner as they try to figure out how to get back to the present.

While  Hot Tub Time Machine is definitely a step above much of the toxic comedies of the time, the film still revels in homophobia and misogyny for cheap laughs. Even with its time travel narrative and talented cast, Hot Tub Time Machine  lacks sustainability.

NEXT:  10 Underrated Time Travel Movies

• Hot Tub Time Machine

LTN Top Ten: The 10 Greatest Time Travel Comedies

Time travel comedies offer a unique blend of sci-fi and humor, bringing together the thrills of temporal twists with laugh-out-loud moments. From iconic classics to modern hits, these films explore the chaos and hilarity that ensue when characters bend the rules of time. Whether it’s reliving the same day, fixing mistakes from the past, or embarking on bizarre adventures through history, these movies provide a perfect mix of clever storytelling, memorable characters, and timeless comedy. Here are our top ten time travel comedies that have entertained audiences across generations.

© Gravier Productions

10. Midnight in Paris

Directed by Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris follows a writer, played by Owen Wilson, who mysteriously travels back to the 1920s every night while in Paris. The film humorously explores his encounters with famous literary and artistic figures, mixing romance, nostalgia, and whimsical humor.

Where is it streaming? Apple TV (Rental Only) & Amazon (Rental Only)

© Skydance Media

9. The Adam Project

This recent Netflix film combines time travel with heartwarming comedy as a time-traveling pilot, played by Ryan Reynolds, teams up with his younger self to save the future. The film balances humorous banter with action and emotional moments, making it an entertaining and fun ride.

Where is it streaming?   Netflix

© Amblin Entertainment

8. Men in Black 3

The third installment of the Men in Black franchise adds a time travel twist to the mix. With Agent J traveling back to the 1960s to save his partner, Agent K, the film incorporates both sci-fi elements and humor, capturing the spirit of the original movies while adding a fresh temporal layer.

© Walt Disney Animation Studios

7. Meet the Robinsons

This animated film is a delightful family-friendly comedy that explores time travel’s possibilities. It follows a young inventor, Lewis, who meets a boy from the future and is whisked away to meet his eccentric future family. The film is filled with humor, heart, and inventive plot twists.

Where is it streaming? Disney+

© Limelight

6. Palm Springs

This modern time loop comedy stars Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti as two wedding guests stuck in a never-ending day. With sharp humor and a fresh twist on the “Groundhog Day” concept, the film combines romance, wit, and reflections on life and love.

Where is it streaming? Hulu

© BBC Films

5. Frequently Asked Questions about Time Travel

This British comedy centers on three friends who accidentally discover a time portal in their local pub’s bathroom. The film is filled with quirky humor and pop culture references, providing a lighthearted take on the time travel genre with plenty of laughs.

Where is it streaming? Max

© HandMade Films

4. Time Bandits

A zany adventure from Terry Gilliam, Time Bandits follows a young boy who joins a band of time-traveling dwarfs as they hop through various historical eras, causing chaos and encountering bizarre characters. The film’s blend of surreal humor and imaginative storytelling makes it a standout.

© Interscope Communications

3. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

This cult classic follows two teenage slackers, Bill and Ted, as they travel through time in a phone booth to complete a history project. The duo’s cluelessness and humorous encounters with historical figures make for an entertaining and lighthearted take on time travel.

Where is it streaming? Apple TV (Rental Only)

© Columbia Pictures

2. Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is a quintessential time loop comedy that mixes wit with deeper philosophical reflections. Bill Murray’s portrayal of a cynical weatherman stuck in a repeating day provides humor through his initially frustrated antics and his eventual path to self-improvement.

© Universal Pictures

1. Back to the Future

A perfect blend of sci-fi, adventure, and comedy, Back to the Future remains one of the most beloved time travel movies. The humorous misadventures of Marty McFly and Doc Brown, from accidentally meeting Marty’s teenage parents to avoiding timeline disasters, provide endless laughs and iconic moments.

Where is it streaming? Netflix (Until Sep. 30)

Time travel comedies have a special way of combining the mind-bending possibilities of science fiction with the universal appeal of humor. From classic favorites that defined the genre to fresh takes that bring new twists and laughs, these films continue to captivate audiences by exploring what happens when we get a second (or third) chance to rewrite our stories. Whether they make us think, laugh, or both, these movies remind us that even when time gets tangled, a good laugh can be timeless. So, if you’re in the mood for some reality-bending fun, these films are the perfect way to escape into a world where anything is possible.

What do you think of our list? Any movies missing that you think belong in the top ten?

Love what you just read? Get more LTN!

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These Time-Travel Adventure Comedies Are Always Good Fun

These sci-fi stories are a rollicking good time.

• Photo Credit: Lucian Alexe / Unsplash

Almost everyone wishes they could travel through time at least once. There’s a historical period they’ve long been fascinated by, or they just want to know whether or not the future looks like how they’d imagined. Sometimes, however, the perils of time travel are extremely funny. Changing the fabric of the space-time continuum can inspire more than a few shenanigans. Here are eight time-travel comedies that show the pros and cons of messing with the timeline. 

6 Unique Time Travel Books Fans Shouldn't Miss

The Particular Charm of Miss Jane Austen

By Ada Bright

Rose Wallace is a diehard fan of Jane Austen. Her life revolves around all things related to her iconic novels, particularly the annual Austen festival in her home city of Bath which she attends without fail. But things get surreal when a mysterious woman who bears more than a passing resemblance to the great author moves in upstairs. 

It turns out that Rose's strange new neighbor really is the Jane Austen! She's stuck in the 21st century and if she doesn't get back to her own time, her books may never get to exist. Rose can't live without Mr. Darcy, so she must help her icon turned friend fix the space-time continuum (and perhaps find some time to cozy up to the dishy archaeologist, Dr. Aiden Trevellyan...) 

Doing Time: a hilarious new spinoff from the Chronicles of St Mary's series (The Time Police Book 1)

By Jodi Taylor

In the near future, time travel becomes not only possible but a service available to all. Of course, it created a hell of a lot of problems as humans jumped through the past to change history in weird and questionable ways. So, the Time Police was formed to monitor these weirdos and keep the timeline as straight as possible. 

The Time Wars are now over, but that doesn't mean the issues are solved. Jane, Luke, and Matthew are a trio of hapless new recruits who are trying to figure out life as officers of time. What could possibly go wrong?

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To Say Nothing of the Dog

By Connie Willis

For historians at the University of Oxford in the middle of the 21st century, time travel is a very helpful way for them to complete their studies. There are strict rules to exploring the past, of course. One must not alter the past by preventing things that are destined to happen. 

It's up to history students like Ned Henry to jump back, do their work, then return in one piece. After a few too many trips to 1940, Ned needs a break. A relaxing trip to Victorian England seems ideal. How could a quiet holiday lead to the potential destruction of the entire course of history, after all?

Up the Line

By Robert Silverberg

Judson Daniel Elliott III loved working as a time courier. It gave him the chance to accompany groups of tourists back and forth through time. As long as he managed to do so without bumping into various versions of himself, and didn't meddle in history, everything was fun. 

But when he met a seductive Greek in Byzantium who showed him how rules were made to be broken, things fell apart very quickly. Now he has to go on the historical trip of his nightmares lest he change his past, present, and future forever.

Time Travel TV Shows That Will Take You Through History

The Ministry of Time: A Novel

By Kaliane Bradley

A nameless civil servant is offered a huge pay increase if she takes a strange new assignment. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible. Her task requires her to act as a "bridge"—a time companion—for an expat from the 1800s known as Commander Graham Gore. 

As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, but now he's dealing with things like washing machines and the end of British colonialism. As time passes, the pair grow closer, and soon the bridge has fallen hard for her client. Their romance could have dangerous consequences for the entire space-time continuum. Is their love worth defying history for? 

Miss Blaine's Prefect and the Golden Samovar

By Olga Wojtas

Fifty-something Shona is a proud former pupil of the Marcia Blaine School for Girls. Impeccably educated and an accomplished martial artist, linguist and musician, Shona is chosen by Miss Blaine herself to travel back in time for a curious mission. She must visit 19th century Russia, become friends with the orphaned heiress Lidia Ivanovna, and ensure she pairs up with the gorgeous Sasha. It seems simple enough, but the more time she spends in the past, the more Shona wonders what the purpose of her mission truly is. 

What if she's the villain, not the hero?

Rainbow Mars

By Larry Niven

In this collection of short stories and a novella, Larry Niven explores the life of Hanville Svetz, who was born into a future Earth where environmental catastrophe has engulfed every corner of the planet. The vast majority of the world's animals are extinct. It falls upon Hanville's shoulders to journey back and forth through time to retrieve those species in the hopes that they can be revived for the new generation. 

When he learns that Mars was inhabited, and that the Martian race was mysteriously wiped out, he wonders if time travel could open the doors to the end of Earth as they know it.

The Seven Year Slip

By Ashley Poston

Clementine West's life has been something of a disaster lately. She's an overworked and underappreciated book publicist whose perfectly laid out plans for her future fell apart in the drop of a hat. Things start to pick up when she acquires a temporary new roommate. He's gorgeous, sweet, and can bake the perfect lemon meringue pie. 

But there's a hitch: he lives in the past —s even years ago, to be exact. It should be impossible, yet there he is, and there goes Clementine's heart. If finding your soulmate is all about good timing, then this truly takes the cake!

Time Travel Movies Ranked by How Much Sense the Time Travel Makes 

Featured image: Lucian Alexe / Unsplash

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40 Random Bits of Nostalgic Trivia to Make You Yearn for Yesteryear

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When Robert Zemeckis teamed up with Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd , I don’t think they knew what magic they were about to create with Back to the Future . Not only did the smash hit spawn a multimedia franchise that now includes sequels , theme park rides and even a musical, but it became the face of the time-travel genre. At least whenever you think of a time-traveling comedy it’s hard to think of anything but that plutonium-powered DeLorean . And while it rightfully holds the GOAT title, it’s hardly the only funny film that’s explored the endless possibilities of time travel.

Here are five other comedies about transcending all sorts of time and space that have nothing to do with going Back to the Future …

5 Safety Not Guaranteed

A film inspired by a joke ad from the classifieds section might be a risk, but even riskier than that? A time-travel film that really only capitalizes on the promise of its time-traveling premise in the film’s final moments. To that (literal) end, Safety Not Guaranteed is more an exploration of the innate human impulse to want to time travel and what that means for the human psyche. Aubrey Plaza , Jake Johnson and Mark Duplass embody the desire to fix the things in our past that we can’t change — unless we have a time machine. But even then, safety is not guaranteed. Oh, and bring your own weapons. 

4 Peggy Sue Got Married

Peggy Sue was at her lowest — her husband was cheating on her, and she brought her own daughter to her high school reunion, where she discovered that the class dweeb was now a billionaire inventor. What’s a girl to do after taking all these hits? Pass out in front of her former classmates and wake up 25 years earlier of course. A surprising but sweet film from Francis Ford Coppola, who only took it on after two other directors dropped out, features an Oscar-nominated performance from Kathleen Turner as a woman with an opportunity to change her past for the future she wants and a larger-than-life performance from Coppola’s nephew, the inimitable Nicolas Cage .

3 Palm Springs

The first of two time-loop movies on the list, Max Barbakow brought the rift in the space-time continuum where no other film had gone before: Palm Springs. Hulu’s 2020 sleeper hit brought Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti together as wedding-guests-turned-lovers-turned-time-loop-prisoners. The film explores and compares the two paths one can take when they discover they’re trapped in a time loop: 1) losing hope and giving into complacency after realizing this is now their life for the rest of eternity; or 2) trying to do everything in their power to get out and see the next day.

2 Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

Time travel. Slackers. Radical historical fiction. This Excellent Adventure has it all. The sci-fi comedy that paired Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves with George Carlin saw two lovable stoners enter a time-traveling phone booth that brought them to all corners of history in order to ace their history class and, in turn, preserve their destiny. While you may not exactly want to take notes from this one for your own history class, it did teach us a very valuable lesson: to be excellent to each other.

1 Groundhog Day

What’s the best way to punish a man with utter contempt for a small-town assignment that he thinks is beneath him? Trap him in that small town. When Harold Ramis and Bill Murray embarked on what would become their final collaboration , they didn’t trap Groundhog Day’ s Phil Connors in any conventional way. Instead they trapped the crotchety weatherman in a time loop, forcing him to relive February 2nd as he lives recklessly, makes mistakes, learns lessons, falls in love, and ultimately, makes an unlikely decision once February 3rd finally arrives.

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